Ex-Mayor of Nazareth’s Detention Extended in Corruption Probe

A court extended the detention of former Nazareth mayor Ali Salam by seven days on Wednesday, the fourth time his remand has been prolonged. Salam was arrested three weeks ago as part of a corruption investigation involving municipal employees and the Bakri crime organization.

Police also extended by one week the detention of Samir Bakri, described as the head of the crime family. Three weeks ago, senior figures from the Bakri organization, businesspeople, and current and former Nazareth municipality officials were arrested in the same case.

As part of the investigation, Israel Police Internal Investigations Department, known as Makhash, questioned a senior officer, a deputy commander of the Northern District with the rank of Natziv Mishneh, and two other police officers, a patrol officer in the Nazareth station and the head of the Nazareth investigations team.

According to the suspicion, the people involved transferred large sums of money to members of the Bakri organization, causing serious damage to Nazareth’s finances. The city is reported to be about NIS 300 million in debt.